Probate

Yes, you need to open an estate with the probate court. You can usually get a packet of the required forms at the courthouse. The executor of a will is the person responsible for making sure the wishes of the testator are carried out. They are responsible for paying off the debts and distributing the assets. They also have to pay taxes and file the appropriate reports with the probate court.

you don't need a lawyer if you follow all of the rules of setting up a will or codicil. I worry when you say "minor edits" - there is no such thing as a "minor" edit. You can delete things on an original, but you can't add things - you need a codicil for that. This is correct and I would add this. The procedure in NJ for admitting a will to probate is a simple administrative one. The will is brought to the Surrogate's office and if it is properly done, it will be admitted to probate. Hoever, when an original will has "minor edits" or almost anything written on it, the Surrogate is not permitted to probate that will. Such a will has to be brought into the Superior Court using the proper pleadings with witnesses explaining, if they can, what was done. The end result is that the will has now cost much much more to probate because of the legal fees taking the matter into court. Plus, as the answer above says, additions will not be honored but deletions will.

The simplest thing to do is file a copy of the marriage certificate with the deed. Or you can do a quit claim deed with the new name.

A disclaimer of interest must be filed within the statutory time period fixed by each state in its laws governing disclaimers. In New Jersey it is 9 months.

If you father has surviving spouse or/and children his sister would generally not be considered an heir in most states if your father died without a will. You can check the laws of intestacy for your state at the related question link provided below.

If his sister inherited under the terms of his will then she would be considered an heir.

The house goes with the legally married woman if the woman has children. If not, the house goes to the children over 21 or oldest child. If their are stepchildren in the picture the house goes to legal children. If children with second wife then the house goes with firstborn kids.

There is a statutory period of time during which you may respond to notice of the probating of an estate. Once the estate has been probated and closed it is too late.

Having just done this ourselves we simply filed a new Affidavit. The only difference being in the title we were told to write "Amended Affidavit of Claiming Successor".

The new/amended affidavit was basically the same as original but will the changes and the title change. The court used this copy in place of the original that we had filed. There was no additional filing fee for this, we only paid for the certified copies that we needed.

Sworn to and subscribed in my presence by' is typical language for legal documents such as oaths. It is a statement of the witness, and the person whose name follows 'by' is the person making the oath or signing the document.

Yes, in order for the property to be properly transferred, the executor has to execute the deed.

Most likely probate court will need to make a determination. They will want to find any heirs of the deceased and determine an equitable way to divide the assets. Most likely, if you are not the heir, you will need to purchase the deceased share from the estate before you can sell it.

It is my understanding that if both parents are deceased, next in line would be a sister, brother....hope this helps.

That would certainly be important to the process. The executor may have to obtain the divorce decree to prove the divorce exists. If there is a decree, it will be presumed to be valid.

== == File a request with the probate court to obtain a copy of the will and any other pertinent documents that have been presented to the court. POAs become null and void upon the death of the grantor.

Interesting...I would say that you should find out who the lawyer was that handled the estate issues and go after HIM AS WELL.

If the debt was in the spouses name only, they will have a hard time making a case for you to pay the debt. Hopefully the surviving spouse has no connection to it (not even an authorized user of the account). Just send a copy of the death certificate, they have to write it off. They will tell you that you have to pay it, and they may come after his assets (a car he owns or something that is in his name only). You will want to contact a credit councelor - most will give free advice. If the married couple resided in a community property state the surviving spouse in most instances is responsible for all debts incurred in the marriage even if they were not a joint account holder. The exception would be the CP state of Wisconsin which treats marital debts differently when it pertains to the death of a spouse.

If the trust took out the auto loan the answer is yes.

Usually an individual or a company takes out a loan If an individual took out the loan , and died without satisfying the loanthen the loan company would have a claim against the vehicle , and if theindividual passed away their estate would be liable to satisfy the loan unless there was life insurance on the loan . If there is nothing in the estate and the vehicle isn't worth much - let them come get the car - they would not have aclaim against the trust because the trust did not borrow the money for the car the individual did .

No, the executor does not have an interest in the real property. He is not selling it, the estate is. If he inherits the property, then he has an interest in it and there could be dower rights involved. That is an issue that varies from state to state. It would be best to contact a local probate attorney, one who is familiar with laws in your state, to answer that question.

Yes, all wills in Canada must go through probate. That makes sure all of the legal requirements are met and taxes paid.

Aids

If your grandfather died and left all his property to his grandchildren in his will then they are the owners of the property. If your grandfather granted his own children life estates in the same property they did not have the authority to sell the real estate. In Massachusetts, their deeds would be null and void as to the transfer of the fee to the property. In order to convey the grandchildren's interest in the property they would have been required to have court approval of the sale. You should consult an attorney.